NBI starts probe on Sisnorio’s death

With the recent tragic death of Filipino boxer Lito Sisnorio, the National Bureau of Investigation is sending two agents today to look into the possibility that the recruiter in the case had sent other boxers to Thailand to compete in alleged illegal fights.

NBI-Interpol division chief Claro de Castro Jr. said special investigators Sixto Espenesin Jr. and James Sherill Tosoc would go to the cities of Koronadal, General Santos, and Kidapawan to start probe on the death of the boxer and pin down those involved in the ring tragedy.

They are set to interview Sisnorio’s family in Koronadal, his friends and sparring mates in Gen San, and Jemmel Contayoso, the boxer’s manager in his gymnasium in Kidapawan, the NBI said.

The investigators hope to identify the recruiters, managers and facilitators of the fights and find out who should be held accountable for the violations that eventually resulted in Sisnorio’s death.

"The recruiters might have sent boxers other than Sisnorio. We don’t know yet. But there is that possibility," an NBI officer said.

The 24-year-old former World Boxing Council (WBC) Youth flyweight champion left the country and fought without clearance from the Games and Amusement Board (GAB).

He died March 31 following brain surgery after he suffered a fourth-round knockout in a mismatch against former WBC flyweight champion Chatchai Sasakul.

In a previous statement, North Cotabato Governor Manny Piñol said he would personally initiate an investigation to bring the unscrupulous fight brokers to justice.

Sisnorio’s family would reportedly receive 100,000 baht (P135,000) from an insurance firm. GAB also approved P100,000 cash assistance to be deducted from the GAB’s Boxers Welfare Fund for the family of the boxer.